Not Rain But Snow
by Haru-shira-kun
Summary: Alfred's Christmas party is all but wrapped up. The three remaining people are all tired, but Matthew brings up a subject too hard to ignore. Harmless fluff   my first fic.


**Don't be too hard on me guys . this was my first fanfic  
>Pairing: AlfredArthur, Matthew/Gilbert (mentioned)**

It was nearing midnight now. The floor of the ballroom was strewn with ribbons, paper and bits of food that everyone had expertly managed to spread throughout the entire space. The giant Christmas tree stood in the corner, looking bare without the huge pile of presents that had been below it before tonight. The tree and the continuing music from the square outside were the only hints that this room had hosted the world not two hours ago.

Alfred took a deep breath, looking over at Matthew beside him. Both were relieved that the night was finally over, and all the nations had left.

Well, nearly all of them.

Arthur stood outside, leaning on the railing of the balcony. His emerald eyes reflected the dance of the multicoloured lights from the city below. Alfred walked through the huge glass doors and stood beside him. Arthur said nothing, seeming to not notice.

"Arthur?"

He jumped, surprised that anyone would be talking to him.

"H-hi Alfred…." he stuttered

"Arthur, you're going to freeze out here. It's the middle of winter."

As Arthur turned to face him completely, Alfred noticed his cheeks were tinted crimson. "You've been drinking again…" he sighed.

"Huh" was his all he managed to get out before collapsing in a dead faint in Alfred's arms.

"Hey Matt! Come help me here!" Alfred called out.

Matthew made his way to the balcony and, noticing Arthur, helped him carry the older nation to the nearest bedroom. The brothers laid him carefully on the tiny bunk bed they had used as children, then collapsing tiredly on either side of the mattress.

"Al…this room sure brings back memories, eh?" Matthew said, looking around fondly.

Alfred didn't seem to hear him. Matthew looked back to the bed, amused to see Alfred stroking Arthur's palm with one hand and running his fingers through his hair with the other. Matthew smirked. Alfred quickly pulled away, blushing.

"Never really let go of him, could you," he laughed, shaking his head.

"Whaddya mean?"

"Come on, Al. You're in love with Arty."

Alfred seemed stunned. "Where the hell did you get that idea! Arthur's a guy!" He tried to look anywhere but his brother's teasing face.

Matthew laughed to himself. "So? Gilbert's a guy. I don't care."

Alfred said nothing.

"Well, I'm going to go make pancakes," Matthew said.

"Uh…why?"

"To give you time to think." Matthew winked at him before leaving the tiny room.

Alfred sat silently looking annoyed for a few seconds, rolled his eyes and stormed out, closing the door behind him. Going against his own advice, he went straight to the balcony, not bothering to grab his jacket. He stood quietly, closing his eyes and feeling the crisp winter wind flip his hair around. He lost himself in the sound of the flutes and violins drifting up from below him, surrendering to his thoughts.

_Why?_

He turned the word over and over in his mind. He had become independent for a reason, but couldn't seem to remember it over the slight wine-induced haze…

-

Elsewhere in the house, Arthur opened his eyes groggily, though not fully awake.

_What a headache…where the bloody hell am I?_

He looked around.

_Alfred's house…? Oh yeah…the party…wait. Where is Alfred?_

He sat up with a start, proceeding to whack his head on the upper bunk and pass out right back where he was.

-

He couldn't explain why he always felt a surge of anger whenever Arthur had called him a brother. Or why he was still the one who brought Arthur home after he had drunk too much. Or why a part of him disappeared on that rainy day so long ago…

_"Come on, Al. You're in love with Arty."_

_"Love"…?_

"Want pancakes?" Matthew's voice came from right beside him, startling him in his zone-out.

"U-uh…no thanks."

Matthew shrugged, giving Alfred a weird look. "You do realize it's December?" he said, staring at his T-shirt. "C'mon, let's go inside."

Alfred mumbled in agreement and followed his brother back into the house.

They sat across from each other on the living room couches, strewn with gift wrap. Alfred perched his head on his fists, watching Matthew consume his huge stack of pancakes in silence for a while.

"Hey Matt…why do you think I-"

"Luff Arfur?" he cut in, mouth full.

Alfred looked at his bare feet in an effort to hide his reddening face. "Yeah. That."

Matthew swallowed. "Oh, come on. All the nations have noticed you haven't been your normally-heroic self lately. Even Feliciano. And he's as dense as a doorknob. You just seem so…down."

"Huh." Arthur let this sink in for a while before asking, "Then why love?"

"Well, it was pretty much the same as-" He stopped suddenly. It was his turn to blush. "The same as me and Gilbert,"

Alfred had to strain his ears to hear him say this. When it processed, he put his head in his hands.

"Oh _God_. I do _not_ want to have _sex_ with _Arthur_."

"Wh-what? How do you know-"

"I'm your brother. I just know these things," he said, winking.

Matthew was silent.

"I'm just kidding. You have a hickey the size of Texas," he said, pointing at Matthew's neck.

Matthew moved his hand self-consciously to where Alfred had pointed, putting his now-empty plate on the ground. "Well, whatever. That's not what I meant. Things just happen when you're in love, and usually the complete opposite way you expect them to. And it's this special feeling…Like, I love you, but in a brotherly way. If Gilbert told me he thought of me as a brother…I'd probably be moping the same way you are now."

When Arthur called him a brother…

Alfred shut his eyes for a minute. He couldn't think of any other explanation for how he acted around Arthur. What if Matt's right? He thought. It can't be that bad, can it?

He cleared his throat. "Well, say I _do_ love the guy. It wouldn't work out for me anyways. He hates me."

"Oh really, Al?" He said with a smirk. "Wanna bet?"

Alfred felt his competitive spirit spark inside of him. "Oh, you're on," he said, grinning slowly.

Matthew returned his grin. "Sweet. So. Arthur's probably still out cold in our old bedroom. You're going to wake him up and…ask him to dance. He'll accept for sure, either because he's hung over and doesn't care, or because he loves you. And then…" an evil grin crept across Matthew's face.

Alfred stared at his brother, dumbfounded. _This is what Gilbert has done to him…_he thought. He squirmed impatiently waiting for his brother to continue.

"If Arthur kisses you, I win," he finished.

Alfred let this sink in. _Kiss!_ "That'll be easy!" he exclaimed. There was no way his brother would win this one. _Besides, why would I let him kiss me in the first place?_ "If I win, you're paying for my cheeseburgers for all of next year." His mouth watered at the thought of this.

"Fine. If I win, you're paying for my maple syrup for all of next year."

Alfred and Matthew stood up at the same time. The same thought was passing through both their heads. _I've got this bet in the bag._

"Now go!" Matthew shoved him toward the room where Arthur rested unconscious.

Alfred took a deep breath, surprised to find it wavering. He walked into the room and sat down slowly beside the sleeping man. He looked at Arthur's tranquil face, wishing he would always seem this peaceful. _I don't remember him having a bruise on his head,_ he thought.

"Arthur."

No response.

"Arthur!" Alfred shook his shoulders, but he was out cold. "Man, this guy…" Then he got an idea. He looked around cautiously to see if Matthew was anywhere near. Turning back, he took Arthur's head in both hands, bending over slowly, planting a kiss on the older nation's forehead. Then he moved his face so it was almost touching Arthur's ear.

"Wake up, Arthur."

-

Arthur slowly opened his eyes, trying to take in his surroundings, but a mess of blond hair in front of him didn't allow it. His headache seemed to have gone down for some reason…

"Alfred? What are you doing?"

Alfred jumped, startling both of them. "Arthur! Um…Hi! I-I mean…how's your head?" He said, embarrassed to have been caught.

"I don't remember much of how I got here, but it's better." His words were slurred.

"That's good," he said. For some reason he couldn't look Arthur straight in the face.

They sat in silence for a while. Arthur sat up and rubbed his temples. Alfred tried to look anywhere but at him.

"H-hey, Arthur…" he started.

"Yeah?"

Alfred took a deep breath. _You can do it, man._ "W-will you…um…d-dance…with me?" He turned to look Arthur straight in the eyes.

"Wait…what? You want me to dance with you?" Arthur's cheeks turned redder than Antonio's tomatoes.

Alfred shared the blush. "Yeah. That's what I said."

Arthur thought about this. He stood up shakily. "Wait…this is some kind of joke, right? Seriously Alfr- mmph!"

He was cut off by the sudden presence of Alfred's hand in front of his mouth. "Please," he said. His face was so full of care…_he was being serious…?_

-

Arthur had never seen him like this. He didn't resist as Alfred pulled him by the wrist out of the room, through the halls and towards the balcony. As they passed by the living room - Alfred tugging impatiently and Arthur stumbling behind - they noticed Matthew asleep on the couch, hugging his bear to his chest. Alfred figured he was just pretending. He slid open the glass doors leading to the balcony. It was snowing.

Alfred turned to face Arthur. "Er…Sorry about that," he looked awkwardly away, scratching the back of his head.

"It's alright…I don't mind dancing with you, it just kind of…surprised me," he mumbled.

Alfred smiled at him. "Thanks Arthur," he paused. "Now…shall we?"

"Sure."

Alfred took Arthur's hands gently, brushing one slowly on his cheek before moving them to his shoulders. He slid his own hands to Arthur's hips. They started swaying gently to the music drifting up from the square. Their gazes locked. Alfred closed his eyes, trying to make the moment last as long as possible.

Somewhere in the distance, a bell chimed twelve times.

"Merry Christmas, Arthur," he said softly.

At this, Arthur cocked his head to the side, looked up, and gave Alfred one of his rare smiles.

He removed one of his hands from Arthur's hips to cover his reddening face.

"Arthur…why are you so…"

"Hmm? What are you -?"

He never finished his sentence. Without warning, Alfred pulled his body closer, pressing their lips together. Arthur's eyes widened, surprised by the action. Closing his eyes, he inhaled Alfred's always-sweet scent and opened his mouth in surrender. They explored each other, tasting the alcohol on their breaths. They stayed like this, kissing passionately until a thin layer of snow had begun to form on the balcony. The falling flakes disappeared on their warm cheeks. The full moon shone pale in the winter sky. All was still but the small white flecks in their downwards dance.

It was…perfect.

Finally breaking the kiss, Arthur leaned panting on Alfred's shoulder. They were still swaying to the music.

Alfred looked over in the direction of the living room, annoyed to see Matthew standing there. He mouthed the words "I win" at him while trying to muffle his laughter at the same time. Alfred ignored him. He moved his gaze down into Arthur's bright green eyes, realizing for the first time how much he had missed them. He would deal with Matthew later. No matter how much he hated losing, this moment was more important. Alfred leaned in close. "Arthur…you better remember this in the morning, 'cause I'm only gonna say it once."

"Yeah?"

He brought his mouth to Arthur's ear, pulling him into a warm hug and stroking his hair tenderly.

"I love you."

Arthur stood in shock, letting this thought process. He said nothing, preferring to bury his face in the taller man's chest and squeeze him as tightly as he could. _I've loved you for 300 years, you git._ He could only wish that his thoughts reached Alfred.

Alfred smiled for a reason he couldn't possibly fathom.

End


End file.
